Writing the Spiritual Essay

Philip Zaleski, editor of the Best American Spiritual Essays, has said that spiritual writing describes the indescribable, which is probably what makes the form so appealing for the seekers among us. To find the words is to find a small bit of truth for ourselves.

Spiritual essays can be confessional, prescriptive, satirical or polemical, Zaleski writes, or spring from struggling against oneself and one’s times.

We will read selections from contemporary American essayists writing from many faith (and doubt) perspectives,and talk about what makes them essays, what makes them spiritual and what makes them work (or not.)

Then we’ll begin to put our own words on paper. Writers at every level and from any spiritual perspective will benefit from this class.